Derains & Gharavi has extensive experience in the hospitality sector, particularly commercial and investment disputes concerning contracts for management and construction contracts of hotels in Europe and beyond. The firm has represented and advised owners, management companies and developers in such matters and its founding partners have served as arbitrators in multiple complex disputes arising out of hospitality sector contracts.

The below non-exhaustive examples demonstrate the firm’s extensive experience in this sector (For full list see the CVs of Yves Derains and Hamid Gharavi):

• Successfully represented as the lead counsel the owner of a 4-star hotel in France in an ICC arbitration in Paris against a European hotel management company in relation to a breach of a contract for the management of the hotel in South of France (ICC Case No. 13486/EC);
• Successfully represented as the lead counsel a French hotel management company in a number of arbitrations against hotel owners arising of hotel management contracts worldwide;
• President of the Tribunal in an ICSID arbitration between a Danish hotel management and development company and Egypt in relation to the alleged expropriation of the former’s investment due to the termination of the hotel management contract by the Egyptian Organization for Tourism and Hotels (ICSID Case No. 05/19) [Yves Derains];
• Sole Arbitrator in an ICC arbitration involving an Emirati company, an Azeri company and an Austrian company in relation to the alleged breaches of a contract for the construction of a hotel (ICC Case No. 19266/GFG/FS) [Hamid Gharavi];
• President of the Tribunal in an ICC arbitration between an Emirati company and a Bahraini hotel management company (ICC Case No. 24741/AYZ) [Yves Derains];
• Co-Arbitrator in an ICSID Arbitration between H&H Enterprise Investments and the Arab Republic of Egypt in relation to the alleged expropriation of a hospitality complex (ICSID Case No. ARB/09/15) [Hamid Gharavi];
• Co-Arbitrator in an ICSID arbitration against Hungary in relation to a series of measures adopted by the Hungarian Government in connection with a company operating a chain of hotels in Hungary (ICSID Case No. ARB/17/45) [Hamid Gharavi];
• Co-Arbitrator in an ICC arbitration between a Lebanese company and an American company in relation to the alleged wrongful termination of contracts in the hospitality sector (ICC Case No. 17203/VRO/AGF/AYZ (c. 19998/AGF)) [Hamid Gharavi];
• Co-Arbitrator in an arbitration under the auspices of the Cairo Regional Arbitration Centre dispute in relation to the management of a 5-star hotel between the European Owner of the Hotel and a Public entity of a Middle Eastern State (CRCICA Case No. 594/2008) [Hamid Gharavi]; and
• Co-Arbitrator in an ICC arbitration between two Egyptian companies in relation to the alleged breaches of a management agreement related to a hotel under construction (ICC Case No. 17185/FM/JHN/GFG) [Hamid Gharavi].